Learning  Stranger than Fiction Outtake
by MasenVixen
Summary: One-chapter Stranger than Fiction outtake for FGB Eclipse. Takes place the night before Seattle, in chapter 22.


**A/N:** Thank you so much to Team MasenVixen for contributing to such an amazing cause and for bidding on us in the process! We loved your ideas and used them as a springboard for this outtake. The outtake takes place the night before Bella and Edward go to Seattle in Chapter 22 - the night after the confrontation with Jake and Bella and Edward's time in the treehouse. Team MasenVixen has had this to themselves for several months but now that we have finished StF, we are ready to post this for the rest of you. We hope you enjoy.

Thanks to Annanabanana, our lovely beta. Thanks to all of you for bidding and reading.

Fandom Gives Back, Eclipse: Stranger than Fiction Outtake

By MasenVixen

_The Night Before Seattle_

**BPOV **

"You're not sleeping," he accused in a stern voice.

I smiled and nuzzled into his neck. "Neither are you," I murmured.

He laughed quietly, the cool puffs of his breath skimming my jaw. "Touche. But you _should_ be."

"Can't," I shrugged, pulling the blanket up under my chin.

"Are you anxious about tomorrow?"

"No. Are you?"

"A bit," he admitted. "I've been spoiled these past few days, having you all to myself. And the human interaction, well — I'm out of practice in that regard."

"It will be fine," I soothed, reaching up to thread my fingers through his hair.

He nodded. "I know," he said softly. "What I _don't_ know is what's bothering you."

"I'm still upset about what I said at the treehouse," I sighed. We were both silent for a long moment until I needlessly clarified, "About me knowing Jake better than I know you."

He shifted position and brought his face to mine, his eyes burning with intensity and our lips so close that they were nearly touching. "Bella, it was the truth, and I deserved it." He looked away for a second before muttering, "Hell, I deserve a lot worse than that."

"But I don't want it to be true," I whispered.

"Me neither. I want you to know everything about me again. And — God, Bella — I want to know everything about you. I look at you, when you're sleeping, when we're making love, and I—" He stopped, clenching his eyes shut tight and shaking his head before starting again in a raspy, nearly frantic, tone. "I see how much you've changed. And then I think about all the changes within you, all those things that I _can't_ see — and I'm possessed with this insatiable desire, a panic, almost, to learn about every single one of them."

"There's time," I pointed out. "I mean, I understand, but we have time. We'll get there."

"Promise me," he insisted, leaning his forehead against mine.

"I promise," I said, leaning up to drag my tongue against his bottom lip. He tensed for a beat and then relaxed, propping himself on one elbow as he deepened the kiss.

"Edward," I mumbled against his lips.

"Hmmmm?"

"Tell me about the changes you see. How you think I'm different."

"_Everything's_ different."

"Be specific," I prodded. "I want to know what you see."

He licked his lips and swallowed as his expression turned thoughtful. He reached out with one finger, almost tentatively, to trace my shoulder from one camisole strap to the other. "This. Here. This valley between your neck and your collarbone. It used to be shallower, softer. Now . . . " he trailed off and leaned down, retracing the line with his lips.

"God," I moaned, instinctively arching my chest toward him.

"Now," he continued, "it's deeper, more elegant. And definitely more fun to suck on." He punctuated his statement with a flick of his tongue and then captured my skin in his mouth.

"Oh, yeah?" I breathed, squirming under his touch.

"Not that I know that for certain, of course," he said, dotting my shoulders and throat with soft kisses. "But it's a very educated guess."

"Is that right?" I smiled.

"Yes," he said in all seriousness. "Bella, I have spent hours — hell, _days_ — staring at your clavicle. It's one of the sexiest parts of your body. And one of the few I was privileged to see on a regular basis. I would glut myself on the sight of it."

He inched down my body to cup both breasts over the silk of my camisole, circling his thumbs over my nipples. "These, on the other hand. . . I regretfully did not get a good look at back then," he said, furrowing his brow and jutting out his lip. He looked incredible, having stripped down to only a pair of charcoal grey boxer briefs when I'd slipped into the cami and panty set Alice had left for me.

"I share your regret," I teased.

"Very funny," he smiled. "Despite my once chaste behavior, I can say with absolute certainty that they are rounder, fuller, and more sensitive than they once were."

I scoffed, smiling, but genuinely confused. "How on earth would you know that?"

"Umm — ahh — I — " He exaggerated his stammer on purpose, giving me an impish grin. "I almost touched them before . . . when you were sleeping."

"Edward!" I gasped, smacking him playfully on the arm and then wincing as I recalled why that was a bad idea.

"God, I know. It's so disrespect —"

"No, it's not," I corrected. "It's hot. Tell me more."

He smiled, shaking his head with a memory I wanted to jump inside of. "You had this t-shirt — a Stevie Nicks one — that you wore to bed, and it was tighter and thinner than the others. A few times, when I was at my most desperate for you, I would hold my hands just millimeters above your breasts and fantasize about what it would feel like to hold them."

"A _few_ times?" I interrupted.

"Well, ah . . ." He reached a hand to scratch at the back of his head. "You wore that T-shirt a lot."

I made a disapproving clicking sound with my tongue. "Edward Cullen. I am appalled. Here I imagine you all chaste and behaving yourself. I used to _curse_ how well you fucking behaved yourself."

"Hey now." He pressed a hand to his bare chest as if wounded. "I _did _behave myself . . . mostly. But do you have any idea what it's like to have an erection for eight solid hours and the most delectable woman in the world unconsciously wiggling against you all night long?"

I felt the flush creep across my chest as I imagined myself as a teenager, waking up to his cool hands roaming over my body.

"Jesus Christ, Edward, you should have gone for it!" I exclaimed, giggling. "I would have let you, I swear!"

He laughed. "I know, I know."

"But wait —" I wondered aloud. "How do you know they're more _sensitive_?"

He laughed again. "When I brush against them now, even when doing something innocent like giving you a hug, for example, you become incredibly aroused. Your pulse rate and your scent leave no question."

My cheeks grew even hotter.

"The reaction was not quite so . . . intense back then."

"I guess I'll have to take your word for that," I said, propping my feet in his lap where he sat next to me and flopping my head back on the pillow. He picked up a foot and began rubbing. I moaned.

"What's this from?" His thumb gently traced the slightly raised scar just below my left ankle.

"Cliff-diving."

His smile evaporated. "Pardon?"

I shrugged. "Jake and I jumped off the cliffs at First Beach together. No big deal, really, although I'll admit it's a miracle I walked away with nothing but a scar on my ankle."

"I should have known this was Jacob's idea," he muttered. "So irresponsible."

"It wasn't his fault," I corrected him. "I forced him into it."

He scoffed. "Oh really? You weigh what, 110 pounds soaking wet? And you _forced _him? Somehow I doubt that."

"Do you really want to go there?" I glared at him, irritated that he was spoiling the mood.

He sighed, reaching for my ankle. "No, no, I'm sorry." He pulled my foot toward his mouth and placed a soft kiss on the tiny L-shaped mark. "I want to know it all. I promise I'll behave." His tongue snaked out to trace the scar and then he skimmed his nose up my calf, my thigh, stopping when he reached the edge of my panties.

Shivering, I clutched at his hair. "Is this your idea of 'behaving'?"

"Yes." He ran his nose along the elastic edge, then drew his tongue along the same path.

"God, Edward," I breathed.

He breathed in deeply through his nose, drawing a gust of air between my thigh. "Fuck, Bella, you smell so good."

"Stop teasing," I whined, shifting my hips.

He slipped a finger beneath the elastic and pushed it all the way inside.

I gasped. "Shit!"

"What?" he asked innocently. "This is me not teasing."

I could only moan in defeat.

He laughed, pulling his finger from me and grabbing the crotch of my underwear, sliding them off. He then tugged at the bottom of my camisole and I bent forward so he could peel it off.

"Much better," he murmured and then kissed his way down my neck, my breastbone, and all the way to my bellybutton, where he swirled his tongue around the ticklish spot. I giggled and gripped his hair between my fingers. "Why do you always _do_ that?"

He laughed, the deep sound echoing through the room as his body shook against mine. He looked up at me then, flashing me his crooked smile, before he spoke. "Because I love the feeling of your skin against my tongue. And I love your laugh."

I dropped my head back against the pillow and sighed, "I love _you_."

He didn't respond, but simply nodded as he continued his descent. When he reached my hip he stopped, propping himself on one elbow as he traced the shape of my tattoo with his fingers.

"Tell me about this," he murmured.

"You know about it already," I said quietly.

"I want to know it all," he insisted. "Please. Tell me about getting it done."

"Okay, but I don't want it to upset —"

"It won't," he interrupted.

"Alright," I relented, giving a slight shake of my head. My throat tightened as I recalled the desperation of that night, the heartbreak that prompted my decision, the numbing ache of the needle in my skin. "It was the night of graduation. I'd been dreading it for months — having to be _on_, to be _normal_ for everyone else's sake."

Edward nodded, his eyes reflecting sympathy as his hand stroked my hip.

"Somehow I'd made it through the day with Charlie and Renee, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was actually kind of . . . _fun_. So by the time I got to Jessica's party, I'd convinced myself that it was time to turn over a new leaf or whatever." I laughed shortly, my mind traveling back to that night as I recalled what a deluded thought that had been:

_I pulled into Jessica's driveway and shifted the truck into park, glancing in the rearview mirror as I smoothed my hair. "Shit," I muttered, tracing the dark circles under my eyes. Sighing, I flopped back against the seat, clasping my hands over my forehead. _

_I closed my eyes for a few minutes, my heart thumping in time with the bass that pumped through the open windows of Jessica's house. When I opened them again, I saw a flock of female classmates rush excitedly past my truck, their party dresses ruffling in the breeze as their high heels sank in the soft mud._

_I dropped my head, surveying my baggy jeans and sweatshirt. Shaking my head, I ripped the keys out of the ignition and headed into the house, ignoring the stares and whispers as I marched straight to the keg..._

"What happened?" Edward asked, bringing me back to the present as he propped on his elbow next to me and skimmed his fingertips along my ribcage.

"Ahhh," I sighed. "It was a disaster," I smiled ruefully as I felt the tears collect in my eyes. "It's just that. . . I thought I could pretend to be okay . . . that I could keep it together for a single night, you know?"

He winced and hugged me tight around the middle. "I'm so sorry, Bella," he whispered.

"No, it's okay." I said, weaving my hands in his hair, and allowing my mind to drift back into the past...

_I chugged two beers and poured another; the alcohol made me feel outgoing, made my normally tightly-wound joints feel loose. I tried to talk to my classmates, but I'd avoided them for so many months that the conversations were stilted. Determined to make the best of things, I had just finished my third beer, when Jessica brought her cousin over to meet me._

_"Bella, this is Keith. He's at U-Dub, and I think you guys have a lot in common. He's into books and stuff," she explained in all seriousness as he rolled his eyes._

_I smiled in spite of myself. "Books and stuff," I repeated, my speech slurred, my eyes unfocused. "My kind of guy." I gave him a coy smile and held out my hand for him to shake._

_I flinched at the feeling of his skin against mine, startled at the warmth._

"Bella," Edward whispered, pulling me back to the present once again. "Tell me what happened."

"Okay," I said, blinking a few times as I tried to formulate a plan for explaining this to Edward. "Jessica tried to set me up with her cousin, who was visiting from the University of Washington. He was pretty cute, a lit major — totally nice guy. . . . And he was _into_ me, you know?"

"Uh-huh." Edward's voice was tight as he rolled to his back. As I shifted position to rest my elbows on his chest, I noticed that he'd gone completely tense. He lay silent and motionless as he waited for me to continue.

I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Edward, baby, relax. Nothing happened."

He nodded, but didn't smile. "Okay," he whispered.

"So anyway, we talked for awhile, and it was awkward at first, just because . . . well, I could tell he liked me. He was looking at me like . . . like how you used to look at me."

"I seriously doubt that," Edward said softly, shaking his head as he reached up to drag his thumb over my bottom lip, his eyes burning into mine as his fingers curled around the back of my neck.

"Point taken," I murmured, opening my lips slightly to trap his thumb between my teeth. He moaned as I swirled my tongue around the tip, and growled as I bit down hard on his nail.

"Bella," he groaned. "You need to start talking again — _now_ — or I fear we're not going to finish your story." He reached down to adjust himself before adding, "And I'd really like to. . . finish. Your _story,_ that is."

"It was. . ." I paused, not sure exactly of how to phrase it. "It was," I continued, "the first time — since you left — that I actually wanted to be _seen_."

_I liked the way his brown eyes shone when he talked about Garcia Marquez, the way the fingers of his left hand twitched when he talked about playing bass in a garage band. I liked the way he licked his lips when he was nervous and the sweet smell of beer on his breath. I liked that he ribbed me about my grubby sweatshirt and that he knew me only as Bella — not as the shell of a girl who'd once existed to everyone else in that room. _

"We talked for awhile, and when the keg was tapped and the party was winding down, he offered to walk me to my truck." I remembered the tightness in my gut — the nervousness, the excitement that came with the thrill of the unknown. "I wondered if he would ask me for my number . . . if he would try to kiss me."

"Did he?" Edward asked, his fingers twisted tight around the comforter.

"No," I replied, giving him a sad smile. "He walked me outside, and asked me to write my phone number on his hand. Then he kind of smiled at me and leaned in to rub my cheek with his thumb."

"So he did —"

"He didn't get any further," I interrupted, laughing bitterly and shaking my head. "I . . . I fucking _lost it. _I sobbed. Hyperventilated. Shoved him away."

"Oh," he whispered.

"Then I think I apologized to him for being a freak, hopped in the truck, and sped off toward Jake's house. By the time I got to La Push, I was a basket case."

"You _drove_? In that condition?" His face was panicked.

"Not one of my prouder moments," I murmured. "I had sobered up some but it was definitely not a great idea. I just wasn't thinking about anything except getting away."

_As I pulled into the driveway, I saw Jake and the guys camped around a bonfire, empty beer cans littering the dirt around them. _

_"Bella!" Jake exclaimed, springing to his feet and jogging in my direction. He stopped short when he saw my face. "What the —? What happened?" He closed the distance between us and placed his hands on my shoulders, cocking his head as he narrowed his eyes._

_I opened my mouth to explain, but a fresh crop of sobs spilled out. He held me tight against him, letting me cry, until I was ready to speak. "I was at Jess's party," I croaked, wiping my eyes and nose with the back of my hand, "and there was this guy, and —"_

_"Did he hurt you?" he interrupted. "I swear to God, Bella, I'll —"_

Edward squeezed my hand, and I swallowed hard against the memory. "Jake was drunk, and even more excitable than usual, and he wanted to kick the guy's ass for making me cry. He's always been a little protective," I explained, rolling my eyes when Edward mumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "But when I was finally able to spit out what happened, he was more upset than I'd ever seen him."

_Jake stiffened and took a step back from me, his brown eyes smoldering and his jaw set in a hard line. His whole body began to tremble, and he bowed his head._

_"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice timid as I nervously shoved my hands in my pockets._

_"You_ wanted _to kiss him?" he whispered._

_"Well . . . yeah," I shrugged. "I just wanted to see what it would be like . . . if there was anything left to feel."_

_He scoffed and shook his head, staring at me with a shocked look on his face before twisting his features into an ugly smirk. "Fuck you, Bella."_

_I stumbled backward at the force of his words, stunned speechless for a moment as a new flood of tears began to stream down my face. "Jake — what — why —"_

_He stared at the ground as he explained himself through gritted teeth. "I've been waiting for months — taking care of you, giving you space, thinking you'd come around. That you'd finally want to move on from that bloodsucking asshole." He tugged at his close-cropped hair and began to pace as his voice got higher, louder. "And when you finally _do_ — when you finally make a fucking_ effort_,_ _for once_ _—"_

_He stopped and threw his hands in the air. "Goddammit!"_

Edward reached up to cup my face, collecting the tears that had pooled at the corners of my eyes. "Jacob loved you," he said matter-of-factly.

I nodded and took a deep breath, hoping that the influx of oxygen would plug the phantom hole that throbbed in my chest. "He kissed me."

Edward was quiet, still beside me, and I wanted to fill the silence. "I kissed him back. It felt good," I confessed. "For a minute. And then it felt . . . wrong. Really, really wrong. He was too warm . . . he was too demanding . . ." I shook my head, recalling with a shudder the moment the sensation had settled into my skin. "He wasn't you."

I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to blot out the image of Jake's face crumpling at my words. "I told him I couldn't. That I was broken and that I'd break him, too. And he accepted that."

"He didn't have a choice, Bella. Not if he wanted to be in your life. He knew that."

I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut, struck suddenly by the parallels between that night after graduation and what happened between Jake and me this morning.

"So how did the tattoo come about?" Edward was smiling softly, and I sensed he was trying to bring me out of my brooding haze.

I chuckled. "Oh right, the _tattoo_. I didn't realize I was making this out to be such a long story."

"Nonsense," he murmured, rolling me onto my back and leaning in to flick his tongue against the dark ink. "I love learning about you. _Anything_ about you," he emphasized, lazily swirling his fingers over my hips and thighs.

"It's impossible to . . . think . . . when you're doing that," I breathed.

"Try," he whispered.

"Ummm. . . okay. So. Jake and I returned to the bonfire, and Seth was there. He's the youngest member of the pack by a few years, and had just begun to phase. He was hyper, babbling on and on about how proud he was to join the pack and how excited he was about his new tattoo."

Edward nodded.

"I asked him to show it to me, and when he pushed up his sleeve for me to run my fingers along the raised skin, it was like something _clicked_."

"What clicked?"

"Seth got the tattoo to symbolize how he'd changed. After you left, I was never the same, but on the outside I was still just _me_. I wanted to be different on the outside too."

"Why a crucifix? Why not just "Fuck you, Edward?" He smiled wickedly at me and poked me in the ribs.

"Ha ha, very funny." I rolled my eyes. "I guess I've seen too many old horror movies — of course I know it's just a myth that a cross will keep vampires away . . . but it seemed appropriate anyway. I wanted a permanent reminder that you were gone. You weren't coming back — no matter how many boys I pushed away or relationships I ruined."

"I'm sorry I drove you to that." Edward said, but his eyes were warm, not sad.

"I'm not," I answered honestly now. "It used to symbolize something else. But now it's a reminder to me of what we've overcome."

Suddenly, Edward sat up. Adjusting the bedside lamp, he held his forearm, underside up, so that the light shone on his skin. "I have reminders too."

My eyes widened as I took in scores of silvery crescent scars marring the once-smooth flesh of his forearm. The marks overlapped his strong tendons that flexed as he squeezed my hand with his own.

"What _are_ these?" I asked, stunned.

"You know." He smiled and flipped my hand over. He traced my own crescent scar, his brows furrowing in thought. "I hate that you have his mark on you."

I smirked at him. "You hate the mark, or you hate that it's _his_?"

"I hate that it's his."

Edward's eyes were flatly on mine. His tone wasn't playful. I was taken aback by his serious look, by the loaded meaning of his words.

"So whose marks are those?" I asked, turning my attention back to his arm.

"Victoria's."

"Oh." I let my fingers swipe along the slightly raised lines. His eyes closed and I recalled the first time I'd done this — in our meadow. I remember feeling frightened in that moment that I was going to lose him — that I would push him too hard, frighten him away. And so I had. But he had returned. Scarred and changed, just like me.

But he was here. And that was all that mattered.

Suddenly I grabbed his neck and pulled his mouth to mine. I needed to feel his tongue in my mouth. He obliged, licking and sucking at my lips, my tongue, groaning as I clawed at his hair, as I scratched my nailed down his smooth back.

"Wait," he said, pulling out of the kiss and dragging his tongue slowly along the ridge of my jaw bone, up to my ear. "Where were we?"

"Hmm?" I asked, confused.

"Oh yes!" He slid further down my legs, bracing my waist with both hands and leaning over to kiss the mark. "We were discussing this."

I giggled, shifting my legs beneath him

"So where did you go?"

"A small parlor on the reservation. The same artist who did the pack's tattoos. He knew Jake and didn't ask any questions when I came in - aside from discussing the design."

Edward nodded, stroking the the ink. "It's really quite beautiful. Objectively speaking."

I smiled. "Yes, it really is. The artist was incredible. And very . . . spiritual."

"Did it hurt?"

"Yes," I admitted. "But I kind of liked it. It felt like it should hurt."

He nodded as if this made sense and then ducked his head back down, resuming his attention to my hip. His tongue traced the intricate lines of the design. It was so soft and wet and so cold it felt hot as he lazily licked at me and then pressed his open mouth to my skin. He began to moan softly as he sucked.

"You bled?" he asked, but the words were mere breaths, labored as he sighed heavily into my flesh.

"Uh-huh."

"_Fuck,_" he whispered under his breath.

"Not like a cut bleeds," I breathed, my head tilted back as he continued sucking my skin, sliding his open mouth from my hip to my belly.

"Oh?" He paused, his eyes climbing my bare skin to meet mine. "How then?"

"Like . . . ah . . ." I struggled to focus on the question, his mouth alternately sucking and licking at my sensitive stomach. "Like little pricks of blood . . . and then he would wipe the skin. . . and then like a smear..."

He groaned and began sucking harder at me, his hands pressing painfully into my sides. I began to wonder if we were entering dangerous territory, the small scar on my arm a reminder of the danger my humanity posed. But the thoughts fled my mind as he returned to the tattoo, flattening his tongue as he dragged it slowly across the ink, eyes closed, imagining.

'What are you thinking about when you do that?"

**EPOV**

_What was I thinking?_

My cock was harder than it had any right to be. But I answered her honestly.

"Your blood, Bella." I sat up and sank back on my heels. My mouth was swimming with venom. The tattoo on her hip rested just above her femoral artery. As she spoke of the bleeding, I could feel her pulse race beneath my tongue. I could smell her lust in the air. The twin flavors mingled in my nose, in my mouth, in my mind.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. That must make you uncomfortable..."

"No!" she sat up to face me and ran a finger up the back of my neck. "I mean, no, I'm just surprised. Do you remember . . . you know . . ."

I smirked and chuckled lowly, looking down momentarily as I turned her arm over and traced James' mark with my thumb. "Yes. I remember the taste."

I could never forget.

We had never talked in depth about the only time I had tasted the liquid high that ran through her delicate veins. I managed, most of the time, to avoid thinking about the way her blood had flooded my mouth, coating my throat as I sucked at her wrist. At first, the flavor had been masked by the slightly metallic twinge of James' venom. But as I pulled more, harder, her blood ran clean and concentrated and I had dissolved into a mass of thirst and want.

The memory, of course, was laced with wracking guilt. Though Carlisle's voice had managed to bring me back from the brink of my bloodlust, it had been too close.

But now . . . everything was different. Though the scent of her blood still made my throat burn with every toss of her hair, I no longer feared I could hurt her to taste it.

And so I had let my mind go there, deliberately, for the first time.

"What was it like?" She asked, bending into my neck and kissing my throat.

"It was indescribable."

"Try," she pressed, her tongue flicking along my jawline.

"Ahh," I breathed. I wanted to try, but I didn't know how. How could I describe the taste to _anyone,_ much less a human?

I stood and walked to the wall opposite us and scanned my collection of CDs. Finding the one I wanted, I put it in the player and selected the track I needed. As the strings sweetly introduced the song, I inhaled deeply and again recalled the beautiful taste.

I opened my eyes after a moment and she sat, knees bent, eyes wide, hair cascading in a gorgeous mess around her shoulders. "What is this?" she asked.

"Vivaldi. It's called 'Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera'."

"It's beautiful. I— I—" She stammered, shaking her head as she grappled for adjectives.

"I know." I nodded. "I don't have words to describe your taste, Bella. But this music somehow conveys — albeit inadequately — how it _felt_."

"Wow," she said as I walked back to where she sat on the bed. She reached her hand over to the waistband of my boxer briefs and tugged them down. I helped her slip them off and sat down next to her.

I hissed as she cupped her hand around my cock and ran her fingertips along the underside. The ethereal music was still surrounding us as she gingerly touched me.

"You're so soft here," she whispered. "But so hard, too."

Her eyelids were half closed and she was just staring at my cock in her hands, her thumb rubbing light circles on the most sensitive spot just beneath the head. Her face was so close to my erection that I could feel her slightly damp breath run across it.

We had been back together for such a short time and already I had been inside her body in so many ways. I'd taken her urgently, loved her slowly, felt her hips writhing on top of me, swept my tongue inside her pussy. I wanted to know every feeling with Bella.

I wanted to know what the inside of her mouth felt like.

"Fuck, Bella." I clenched my jaw, straining with the effort it took not to grip the back of her head and guide myself into her mouth.

"I want to suck on you," she breathed, her chest heaving. "Is that okay? I mean, is that something you can ... handle?"

Thank God one of us could read minds.

"Yes," I said. "Please. I want that."

"Okay." She wasted no time, surprising me by lowering her head and snaking her tongue out to lick from base to tip. She opened her mouth then and took as much of me in her mouth as she could. She closed her lips and sucked once, then swallowed around me.

"Fuck," I hissed, gripping her jaw gently but firmly holding her face still. I hadn't been prepared for how different this sensation would be. When I was inside her, even with her on top I could help control the pace, the intensity. But her mouth was so precise, so active.

She lifted her eyes to me, my cock still inside her mouth, her minky lashes framing the most erotic questioning gaze.

"I'm sorry," I panted, stroking her cheek, pulling back slightly as she released me. "I want this, Bella. God, I want it more than you know, but the sensation is different. I need to be more in control."

She didn't ask any questions, didn't quirk an eyebrow or make a teasing remark. She simply rose from the bed, pulling me to my feet before dropping to her knees. She grabbed my hands and placed them on the back of her head.

"Bella, I—"

"Shhh," she whispered, taking me in her hand and rubbing her soft lips against my shaft. "Guide me."

I swallowed once, warring only momentarily with the side of me that thought this was all wrong, that I couldn't allow her to kneel, that I should be pleasuring _her_. Around us the music played, and I mentally translated the Latin words sung by the pure-voiced soprano:

_The serpent slithers, but it conceals its venom.  
But the man who is dumbstruck,  
madly in love,  
licks it anyway, as if it were honey._

She darted her tongue out to wet her lips and the conflicted side of me disappeared, possibly forever.

"Okay," I said, gripping my cock with one hand and pulling her head toward me with the other. She was smiling as she looked up at me before opening her mouth to me once more.

"Jesus," I hissed, stilling her head with my hands and thumbing her cheeks as I cradled her jaw. "Are you alright?"

She hummed her response, the vibration of her mouth nearly causing me to come right then. She kept still, the only movement the rhythm of her pulse through her tongue.

I locked onto that rhythm, keeping still until I felt grounded, stroking her hair. "That's good, Bella. God, your mouth—"

She moaned around me, lifting her hands then to grip my ass where it met my thighs. I took a deep breath, readying myself for the surge in pleasure I knew would accompany movement. Gently, I gripped the base of her skull with both hands and pressed her forward slightly, and then back.

"Oh God," I breathed, matching her movement with a slight pulse of my hips. She groaned then, sucking along my length and dragging her tongue across the underside of my head. I gasped but didn't stop my movements, guiding her head to match my subtle thrusts. Her face was flushed and beautiful as I fastened my eyes on her. The sight alone was enough to take me to the brink.

I was about to warn her I was close when she moved a hand from behind my legs to cup my balls, tugging them gently. Every nerve in my body was flooded with lust as the sight and the feel of her mouth, her hands overwhelmed my senses. I stilled her head in my hands, bucking my hips into her mouth one last time as I came, the cool warmth of my release coating me inside her as she swallowed around me, humming and moaning as she did.

"Holy shit." It was all I could think to say.

She gently slid away from me and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand like a kitten cleaning its paw. Her eyes were smug.

"That," she said, standing up and draping her arms around my neck. "Was hot."

"Mmmh," I smiled against her mouth as she kissed me softly, slipping her tongue between my lips and then pulling away.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?""

"Is that— are you _bleeding_?"

I opened my eyes to see her staring squinty-eyed at my mouth. I swept my tongue along my lower lip and tasted the tang of blood — mine. I didn't remember biting down on my lip, lost as I was in the feeling of Bella's mouth on my cock. I realized now I had sliced it open in my effort to channel the raging lust, the urge to thrust.

"Yeah, I didn't realize I'd done that," I admitted.

"I didn't realize you could . . ._ bleed." _Her brow was furrowed, her eyes not leaving my mouth.

"It doesn't happen often — not much is sharp enough to cut our skin," I shrugged. "But our teeth are. There would be more if I had just hunted."

"Does it . . . affect you?"

I laughed. "No. It's not the same."

She didn't return my smile. No part of me was expecting what she did next.

Keeping her hand on my jaw, directing my eyes to her face, she glided her thumb along the cut. She then deliberately smeared it along her top lip before slowly licking it off with a tantalizing sweep of her tongue.

My mouth dropped open once before I snapped it shut. I didn't even try to rein in the hungry growl that radiated throughout my entire body at the sight of Bella licking blood from her lips.

"What?" She asked, feigning innocence.

"You know," I hissed. "Don't you?"

"Does that look good to you?" she breathed, inching her mouth closer to mind, fastening her hands behind my neck and moving her mouth to my ear.

"You can't imagine," I growled, my cock already hard again, images of Bella crouched in a hunting posture, eyes black and possessive, wafting through my mind. Before I knew what I was doing I had her on the floor, her hair fanning out around her. Her startled eyes glittered with excitement as I prowled up her body, gliding the tips of my fingers against every sublime inch.

Her hips writhed and tilted toward me as I reached her breasts and gently caressed her nipples with my thumbs.

"Inside," she breathed. "Please . . . now."

Her scent was clouding the air around me; I didn't need to touch the sweet flesh between her thighs to know I would slip perfectly into her.

And I did.

"Christ," I groaned. I slid my arm under her ankle, lifting it to hook around my shoulder. She gasped and then sighed as I sank deeper into her. When I had gone as far as I could, I leaned to kiss her. I tasted my blood on her lips. It wasn't the same as human blood; there was nothing about my own metabolized blood that ignited a frenzy. But the taste combined with the image of her reddened lips, her hungry eyes, did something dark and delicious to my insides.

I turned my face to the side, sucking gently at the skin of her inner knee where it draped over my shoulder. I circled my hips slightly and was rewarded with a groan and spasm of her slick muscles around me. So I did it again. And again.

"Edward," she whined, panting, gripping my hips and pushing me back as hard as she could. Though she wasn't strong enough to move me, I knew what she wanted. Smiling, I pulled back a few inches, paused, and then pressed forward firmly, watching her eyes roll back. Her brow creased in pleasure, her mouth curved into the sexiest shape I'd ever seen.

"That it, baby?" I smiled at her. "That what you want?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, biting her lip and looking up at me. "Do it again."

I cradled one hand beneath her head, keeping the other secured around her leg as I moved forward and back, pressing deeper and retreating further with each stroke. She moved her hips to meet me and our bodies writhed in sync on the wood floor. Grateful that my release minutes earlier allowed me to hold off my own orgasm, I let her build her climax gradually, adjusting my pace each time her pulse began to quicken too steeply.

She reached to touch herself between her legs, but I caught her wrist in my hand. I sucked her middle finger into my mouth as she groaned and then placed it on the small ache I knew tormented her.

"We'll get you there together," I said, my cock tight and aching inside her. I watched the small tendons of her forearm flexing as she stroked herself in a practiced motion.

"Oh...oh..." She sighed into a moan. I pressed my hips into her harder, faster.

"Yes, Bella," I breathed into her hair, smelling the delicious scent of her and clawing my fingers in the soft tousled strands.

"Oh God, Edward...Oh fuck, baby." Her voice was high and frantic as she lifted her hips toward me, her heel pressing desperately into my back.

"That's it," I ground out, my own orgasm building as she bucked and gasped. "God, you feel so fucking good."

"Ah...ahhh." She pushed herself into me in one final, never-ending thrust as every part of her body squeezed and molded to every part of mine. I kept pulsing slightly into her as she exploded around me, my climax building and feeding off of her own. She threw her head back and let out a low noise that sent vibrations through both of our bodies.

"Fuck," I hissed and pushed deep inside her one last time as a hot rush of pure pleasure unfurled through me, sprawling through my limbs as I came inside her again.

After a long moment I unhooked her knee from my shoulder and she lay spent and panting beneath me. I kissed her twice and then skimmed my nose along her jaw to her ear. "I love you."

"Mmmmh," she hummed, her eyes tired and lazy as she licked her lips. "Me too."

~X~

She was fast asleep less than a minute after I carried her to the bed and set her gently into the mattress. She lay beside me now, her expression serene and her body perfectly still save for the rise and fall of her stomach as she breathed. I tucked the sheet up to her shoulders, hating to cover her breasts, but not wanting her to get cold.

She was completely at peace, no sign of anxiety about the events that had transpired over the past weeks or the mayhem we would face in Seattle tomorrow. I envied her as she slept, wishing I didn't have to endure the remaining anxious hours without her conscious company.

I couldn't predict what lay ahead for us. Not even Alice could untangle the web of indecision that clouded around the newly minted reality of my future with Bella in it. But somehow in this moment it didn't matter. She was here now - in my arms.

Sighing into her neck, I tightened my grip around her and closed my eyes, absorbing her calm.

~X~

Link to "Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera" is on our profile. If you haven't heard it, please listen. It makes M's insides ache.


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